The 19th Winemaker of the Winemakers announced

This award is considered to be the most prestigious Hungarian award by many experts, because the winemakers themselves choose the best one. Colleagues can probably more appreciate each other’s achievement, knowing all the challenges and obstacles of this profession. The winner is Tibor Gál from Eger wine region, and he truly deserves this prize.

The process of the award

First the previous award winners nominate, thus we receive a list of 50 top winemakers. Then the voting period takes place, the 50 nominated winemakers vote for their favourite one among themselves. The 5 winemakers with the five most votes will be the finalists. The 50 then will vote again and decide who gets the “Hollywood Walk of Fame”-like star on the pavement of Zrínyi street in Budapest. The finalists were: István Balassa (Tokaj), Tibor Gál (Eger), István Ipacs Szabó (Villány), Oszkár Maurer (Fruska Gora, Serbia), Endre Szászi (Badacsony).
See the list of “immortals’ – all the 19 winners

A well-deserved prize

Tibor Gál started his career with a serious “package”: he is the oldest son of the great and famous Tibor Gál, a pioneer winemaker of Eger. Tibor Gál Senior worked in a state-owned wine company in Eger, and in 1989 after a visit and tasting, Marchese Ludovico Antinori invited him to work in Tuscany. He started as a cellar worker and did not stop until becoming chief winemaker of Ornellaia. The family returned to Hungary in 1992 and the winery was founded, but he kept working for the Super Tuscan winery. Tibor consulted many Hungarian wineries, advised on the building of several cellars, for example Pannonhalma Archabbey. He was awarded Winemaker of the Year in 1998, and in the same year he created Ornellaia’s first SuperTuscan blend, which made it to the first place of Wine Spectator Top 100 list in 2001. He also consulted for a South African winery, and this is where he tragically died in a car accident 2004.

Tibor Gál Junior lost his father and he was far too young to continue his father’s work. The family struggled with financial difficulties, and the wines were obviously not as good as earlier. But “Titi” – as he is often called – overcame the troubles and soon the signs of greatness appeared. For example, he had the brilliant idea to make a white counterpart of Egri Bikavér (Bull’s Blood, the famous red blend), called Egri Csillag.
He also realized that the image of Eger is quite “dusty”, not “sexy” and trendy, and he has been active to change this image with events, appearance on social media and in many other ways. And his wines are stunning. He makes complex, subtle, layered wines, no wonder he gained countless acknowledgements, like extremely high scores from James Suckling, who visited the estate himself in 2023.

“I definitely inherited one thing from my father: taking risks. The only bad decision is the mediocre. I believe in the power of astonishing. This is why I adore winemaking: I have a playground for all my ideas and thoughts and it is a way to express myself.” Tibor Gál

 

Gál Tibor Winery

The Star of Eger – the wine and the visioner